North Korea has banned its people from wearing leather trench coats to avoid them from copying their supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s fashion. — Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — North Korean authorities are banning its people from wearing leather trench coats to avoid them from emulating the country’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s fashion style.
Leather trench coats gained popularity in 2019 after Kim appeared on television wearing one, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
According to RFA, real leather coats were initially imported from China and were snapped up by the rich but soon garment makers began importing fake leather to make them domestically.
This led to almost every North Korean marketplace selling them and young men could be seen sporting faux leather trench coats.
To put a stop to the cheap imitations, and the wearers, police patrolling the streets would confiscate the jackets from sellers and people wearing them.
Real leather trench coats are sold at 170,000 won (RM604), while those made from fake leathers are sold at about 80,000 won (RM284).
The average North Korean monthly salary in 2018 was about 4,000 won (RM14), according to the Korea Joongang Daily, a South Korean newspaper.